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Read›2 Samuel›Chapter 16

David and Ziba

2 Samuel 16:2

In 11 translations

BSB
“Why do you have these?” asked the king. Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the wilderness.”
KJV
And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses be for the king’s household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as be faint in the wilderness may drink.
WEB
The king said to Ziba, “What do you mean by these?” Ziba said, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that those who are faint in the wilderness may drink.”
ASV
And the king said unto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses are for the king’s household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as are faint in the wilderness may drink.
LSV
And the king says to Ziba, “What [are] these to you?” And Ziba says, “The donkeys for the household of the king to ride on, and the bread and the summer-fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for the wearied to drink in the wilderness.”
YLT
And the king saith unto Ziba, 'What — these to thee?' and Ziba saith, 'The asses for the household of the king to ride on, and the bread and the summer-fruit for the young men to eat, and the wine for the wearied to drink in the wilderness.'
DBY
And the king said to Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, The asses are for the king's household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruits for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as are faint in the wilderness may drink.
DRC
And the king said to Siba: What mean these things? And Siba answered: The asses are for the king’s household to sit on: and the loaves and the figs for thy servants to eat, and the wine to drink if any man be faint in the desert.
GNV
And the King said vnto Ziba, What meanest thou by these? And Ziba said, They be asses for the kings housholde to ride on, and bread and dryed figges for the yong men to eate, and wine, that the faint may drinke in the wildernesse.
JPS
And the king said unto Ziba: 'What meanest thou by these?' And Ziba said: 'The asses are for the king's household to ride on; and the bread and summer fruit for the young men to eat; and the wine, that such as are faint in the wilderness may drink.'
LXXE
And the king said to Siba, What meanest thou by these? and Siba said, The asses are for the household of the king to sit upon, and the loaves and the dates are for the young men to eat, and the wine is for them that are faint in the wilderness to drink.

Word by word Hebrew · tap a word

Words in brackets are English the glossers added; the Hebrew has no word for them, and they can carry a choice of tense or meaning.

Where the editions differ

Editions are published forms of the Hebrew and Greek texts. Meet the editions and sources →

  • Written (Ketiv): וּלְהַלֶּחֶם (“and to the bread”). Read aloud (Qere): וְהַלֶּ֤חֶם (“and the bread”) — the form shown in the word-by-word reader.
Spelling, punctuation and minor wording (1)
  • Leningrad Codex reads וְלהַלֶּ֤חֶם; read aloud (Qere) reads וְהַלֶּ֤חֶם (“and the bread”).

Edition differences: STEP Bible, based on work at Tyndale House Cambridge (CC BY 4.0). Names and codes expanded; consecutive words grouped. Comparisons follow the editions used by the source; see version details.

Original-language editions

WLC
וַיֹּ֧אמֶר הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ אֶל־צִיבָ֖א מָה־אֵ֣לֶּה לָּ֑ךְ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר צִ֠יבָא הַחֲמוֹרִ֨ים לְבֵית־הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ לִרְכֹּ֗ב ולהלחם וְהַקַּ֨יִץ֙ לֶאֱכ֣וֹל הַנְּעָרִ֔ים וְהַיַּ֕יִן לִשְׁתּ֥וֹת הַיָּעֵ֖ף בַּמִּדְבָּֽר׃Read aloud as (qere): וְהַלֶּ֤חֶם
LXX-Br
Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς Σιβὰ, τί ταῦτά σοι; καὶ εἶπε Σιβὰ, τὰ ὑποζύγια τῇ οἰκίᾳ τοῦ βασιλέως τοῦ ἐπικαθῆσθαι, καὶ οἱ ἄρτοι καὶ οἱ φοίνικες εἰς βρῶσιν τοῖς παιδαρίοις, καὶ ὁ οἶνος πιεῖν τοῖς ἐκλελυμένοις ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ.

Who and where

👤 Ziba◆ Reign of David

People, places and events the Theographic dataset links to this verse.

In the reference works topics that cite this verse

From public-domain Bible dictionaries and topical indexes (1884–1915).

Cross-references most cited first

  • 2 Samuel 17:29honey, curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd for David and his people to eat. For they said, “The people have become hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the wilderness.”
  • Judges 10:4He had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys. And they had thirty towns in the land of Gilead, which to this day are called Havvoth-jair.
  • Judges 5:10You who ride white donkeys, who sit on saddle blankets, and you who travel the road, ponder
  • 2 Samuel 19:26“My lord the king,” he replied, “because I am lame, I said, ‘I will have my donkey saddled so that I may ride on it and go with the king.’ But my servant Ziba deceived me,
  • Judges 8:4–5Then Gideon and his three hundred men came to the Jordan and crossed it, exhausted yet still in pursuit. So Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “Please give my troops some bread, for they are exhausted, and I am still…
  • 2 Samuel 15:1Some time later, Absalom provided for himself a chariot with horses and fifty men to run ahead of him.
  • 1 Samuel 25:27Now let this gift your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow you.
  • 1 Samuel 14:28Then one of the soldiers told him, “Your father bound the troops with a solemn oath, saying, ‘Cursed is the man who eats food today.’ That is why the people are faint.”
  • Ezekiel 37:18When your people ask you, ‘Won’t you explain to us what you mean by these?’
  • Genesis 33:8“What do you mean by sending this whole company to meet me?” asked Esau. “To find favor in your sight, my lord,” Jacob answered.
  • 2 Samuel 15:23Everyone in the countryside was weeping loudly as all the people passed by. And as the king crossed the Kidron Valley, all the people also passed toward the way of the wilderness.
  • Proverbs 31:6–7Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to the bitter in soul. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.
  • Genesis 21:29and Abimelech asked him, “Why have you set apart these seven ewe lambs?”

From the OpenBible.info cross-reference set (votes from readers; not every link is a quotation or allusion).

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